Means for simulating the rough on a golf course



s- 1969 R. l. ANDERSON ETAL $459,107

I MEANS FOR SIMULATING THE ROUGH ON A GOLF COURSE Filed Oct. 24. 1966United States Patent US. Cl. 94-7 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Amat for simulating the rough on a golf course including a backing havingan upper surface from which a plurality of bristles project, thebristles having their lengths varied over a substantial range and theirdimension transverse to the direction of elongation being varied over asubstantial range.

Currently, in the game of golf, and particularly in conjunction withdriving ranges, golf practice devices and indoor golf games, mats areused to simulate the lie on the fairway of a golf course. Such matsprovide the advantage of fairly realistically simulating the lie on thefairway of the golf course and do not require the degree of maintenancethat would be required in maintaining a corresponding lie on actualturf. Furthermore, where such mats are used in conjunction with indoorgolf games or indoor practice devices, they provide the additionaladvantage of providing a realistic simulation without causing theattendant janitorial problem due to divots that would be present if anactual turf type of lie were to be used.

As far as is known, no means have been provided to simulate the lie inthe rough on a golf course. The failure of the prior art to provide arough simulating mat requires driving ranges and golf games to eitheromit the provision of a rough type of lie or provide a rough type of lieon actual turf. In the case of indoor golf games and practice devices,the rough type of lie has been omitted because the use of a rough typelie on turf causes the above mentioned janitorial problem due to divotswhich may also foul up the data acquisition equipment commonly used inindoor golf games.

In the case of driving ranges, actual rough type lies on turf aregenerally not provided because of the necessity of devoting asignificant amount of space for the provision of such a lie.Furthermore, with the relatively heavy traffic on driving ranges, themaintenance required in providing an actual rough type lie on turf wouldbe so great as to render it substantially economically impractical.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the invention to provide ameans that simulates the lie in the rough on a golf course.

More specifically, it is an object to provide a simulated rough type liethat is maintenance free.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a rough simulatingmeans having a plurality of elongated elements some of which are stifferthan others and support means for supporting the elements.

A further object is the provision of a rough simulating means formed ofa plurality of elongated elements, some of which are longer than others,and a support means for supporting the elements.

A still further object is the provision of a mat for simulating the liein the rough on a golf course that is comprised of a backing member, aplurality of tufts projecting upwardly from the backing member with eachtuft being comprised of a plurality of elongated bristles ofsubstantially circular cross sections that have their diameters varied,some of the bristles having a diameter of about 0.028 inch and others ofthe bristles having diameters ranging from 0.008 inch to 0.018 inch,some of the bristles having a length of about 4 /2 inches while othersof the bristles have a length of about 1 /2 inches.

Yet another object is the provision of a rough simulating means such asthat set forth above further including a means defining a tee area and ameans for securing the rough simulating means in the tee area.

Another object is the provision of a method for simulating the lie inthe rough on a golf course comprising the steps of placing a brush-likemat having bristles of varying stiffness and varying length that projectfrom a backing in a position at a tee area with the mat located on itsbacking so that the bristles project upwardly therefrom and anchoringthe brush-like mat in the position in the tee area.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingspecification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the use of one environment of arough simulating means made according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of an exemplary embodiment of the roughsimulating means; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken approximately along theline 3-3 of FIG. 2.

An exemplary embodiment of a rough simulating means made according tothe invention is illustrated in the environment of a tee area, generallydesignated 10, shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, the rough simulating meanscomprises a mat 12 having a front side 14 and a rear side 16 secured inthe tee area 10 such that the front side 14 faces the intended directionof flight of a shot struck from the tee area 10 as represented by anarrow 18.

A ball 20 rests on the mat 12 so that it may be hit by a golfer 22swinging a golf club 24 to provide impetus to the ball 20 in the generaldirection of the arrow 18.

Turning now to FIG. 2, the specific nature of the construction of themat 12 will be described. The mat 12 is comprised of a base 26 made of asuitable material such as wood or butyl rubber, may have a thickness ofabout three-quarters of an inch, and which is formed in the generalshape of a square having a length of about twelve inches per side. Ifdesired, the length per side of the base 2 6 may be increased or aplurality of the bases 26 may be oriented in a side by sideconfiguration to provide a larger mat.

Suitable bores 28 are provided in the base 26 to receive securing meanssuch as screws 30 which are used to secure the base 26 to the tee area10. Alternatively, the bores 28 and the securing means 30 may be omittedand the base secured in the tee area 10 by means of nesting the base 26in a relatively shallow depression having dimensions that substantiallycorrespond to the dimensions of the base 26.

A plurality of tufts 32 each comprised of a plurality of bristles 34 aremounted in the base 26 so as to project upwardly therefrom inapproximately a right angle. In the exemplary embodiment of theinvention each of the tufts 34 is comprised of ninety-four bristleshaving a circular cross section. About four of the bristles 34 have adiameter of 0.028 inch and have an exposed length of about 1 /2 incheswhile the remaining ninety of the bristles 34 comprising each tuft 32have diameters of 0.008 inch, 0.014 inch and 0.018 inch and are equallymixed so that there are about thirty bristles of each type, each havingan exposed length of about 4% inches.

The above mentioned parameters are merely examplary of one set ofspecific values that may be used in fabricating a rough simulating mataccording to the teachings of the invention. In general it has beenfound a variation of bristle diameter up to approximately 350 percent ofthe diameter of the smallest bristles and a variation in length up toapproximately 300 percent of the length of the shortest bristles willproduce acceptable results. Of course, there may be substantialdeviation within the above ranges and, for that matter, outside of theranges due to tolerance levels in the manufacturing of the bristles andin the ability to maintain bristles of a length at the designparameters. When using currently known manufacturing techniques, thetolerance levels may increase or decrease the ranges by perhaps as muchas 75 percent and, accordingly, the ranges given are intended toencompass variations due to such tolerance levels.

Preferably, the tufts are formed of a plastic material such as nylonwhich may be dyed green for realism. If desired, other materials couldbe used in place of nylon. In this respect, it is generally preferableto avoid the use of metallic materials in that metallic bristles wouldtend to mar the head of a golf club swung at a ball resting on thebristles.

The manner in which the tufts 34 are mounted on the base 26 will now bedescribed in conjunction with FIG. 3. Specifically, there is provided aplurality of bores 40 arranged in the general configuration illustratedin FIG. 3. The ends of the tufts 34 are received within the bores 40 sothat the tufts project upwardly from the base 26. If necessary, anadhesive may be used to secure the tufts 34 within the bores 40.

The bores 40 are arranged on straight lines and have their centersspaced a distance of about 0.20 to 0.25 inch. The adjacent straightlines on which the bores 40 are located are arranged so that the bores40 are aligned as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that in the actual rough on agolf course, a golf ball will nest relatively deeply within the grassforming the rough. As a result, the club head of a club swung at a ballnesting in the rough will generally contact the grass beforeencountering the ball. In fact, generally speaking, blades of grass willbe interposed between the face of the club head and the ball and whilemost of the kinetic energy of the moving golf club will be transmittedto the ball, the fact that there is grass interposed between the face ofthe club and the ball will preclude a clean contact between the two.Thus, a ball hit from the rough will generally not have a back spinimparted thereto by the club because of the absence of a clean contactand the slickness of the grass and the trajectory of the ball willdiffer from that of a ball that is cleanly contacted.

The fact that grass is often interposed between the face of the golfclub and the ball and the uneven nature of the rough on an actual golfcourse may cause more grass to be interposed between the club head andone point of contact of the ball therewith than at another point ofcontact of the ball with the club thereby causing a wedging action whichwill produce unpredictable variations in the direction of the flight ofa ball from the rough.

It will also be recognized that the texture of the grass in the rough isextremely uneven because of the uneven nature of the rough and thereforemay offer uneven resistance to the passage of the club through the roughalong the face of a club to cause the club to twist as it is strikingthe ball in the rough to produce unpredictable variations in thedirection of the flight of a ball from the rough.

Also, the relatively stiff nature of the grass in the rough and the factthat the grass is contacted by the club before the club meets the ballwill cause the club to move the grass slightly which in turn may movethe ball slightly before the club contacts the ball. When such actionoccurs, the ball will not be contacted by the club at precisely thedesired point in the arc of the moving club and as a result, the actualflight of the ball may deviate substantially from that intended by thegolfer.

Finally, it will be appreciated that the nature of the rough isgenerally such that the deeper the club head must penetrate into therough to properly strike the ball, the more resistance the grass offersto the passage of the club head therethrough so that when a ball isdeeply nested in the rough, the increased resistance of the grass to thepassage of the club head will dissipate a greater amount of the kineticenergy of the club head thereby ultimately lowering the velocity of theball hit therefrom and accordingly decreasing the yardage obtained onthe s ot.

The manner in which a mat 12 made according to the teachings of theinvention simulates the above described action of the rough for a golfshot will now be described. The relatively long length of the longer ofthe bristles 34 permits a golf ball to nest at least as deeply with themat 12 as illustrated in FIG. 2. As a result, if a golfer intends tocause the leading edge of the club to pass underneath the ball as wouldbe the normal case, he will necessarily have to contact some of thebristles 34 before contacting the ball 20 so that bristles 34 will beinterposed between the face of the club head and the golf ball. As aresult, there will not be a clean contact between the club head face andthe ball and the usual back spin imparted to the ball by the club willnot materialize so that the trajectory will differ from that of a ballthat is cleanly contacted by the club.

Because of the varying diameter of the bristles 34, it will beappreciated that a bristle 34 may be interposed between the club headand one point of contact of the ball therewith that is thicker than abristle or bristles 34 interposed between the club head and the ball atanother point of contact therewith to cause the above mentioned wedgingaction to produce an unpredictable variation in the direction of theshot.

Furthermore, the variation in diameter of the bristles 34 causes certainof the bristles to be stiffer than others which gives the mat an uneventexture so that it will offer uneven resistance to the passage of theclub head along the face thereof that may be suflicient to cause theclub to twist in the golfers hand thereby causing the resultant shot tobe off line.

The inherent resiliency of the bristles coupled with the relatively longlength may also cause bristles 34 contacted by the club to move the ballslightly before the latter is contacted by the club so that the ballwill not be contacted by the club at the desired point in the arc of thelatter thereby raising the possibility of substantial deviation of theactual flight of the ball from that intended by the golfer.

Finally, the varied length of the bristles 34 will cause a club headthat passes relatively deeply through the mat 12 to contact morebristles 34 than would be the case if the club passed through the mat 12at a relatively shallow depth. Because the club head will contact morebristles 34 when it passes relatively deeply through the mat, moreresistance will be offered to the deep passage of the club head as wouldbe the case if the shot were being played from the actual rough.

Having described specific embodiments of our invention forexemplification purposes, we do not wish to be limited to the detailsset forth, but rather, to have our invention construed in accordancewith the following claims.

We claim:

1. Means for simulating the lie in the rough on a golf course comprisinga backing member; a plurality of tufts projecting upwardly from saidbacking member, each said tuft being comprised of elongated bristles ofsubstantially circular cross section and having their diameters varied,each tuft having about four bristles having a diameter of about 0.028inch and ninety bristles having a diameter of about 0.008 inch, 0.014inch and 0.018 inch in equal proportions, some of said bristles having alength of about 4 /2 inches while others of said bristles including saidfour bristles, have a length of about 1 /2 inches.

2. Means for simulating the lie in the rough on a golf coursecomprising: a backing member; and a plurality of elongated, bristle-likeelements secured to and projecting upwardly from said backing member,some of said elements being significantly stiffer than others of saidelements and some of said elements being significantly longer thanothers of said elements, the shorter ones of the elements also being thestiffer ones of the elements.

3. Means for simulating the lie in the rough on a golf course accordingto claim 2 wherein the stiifer ones of said elements have asignificantly greater dimension transverse to the direction ofelongation of the elements than the less stifi ones of the elements.

4. Means for simulating the lie in the rough on a golf course accordingto claim 3 wherein said dimension transverse to the direction ofelongation of at least some of the stiffer ones of said elements is onthe order of about twice the dimension transverse to the direction ofelongation of at least some of the less stiff elements.

5. Means for simulating the lie in the rough on a golf course accordingto claim 2 wherein the length of the longer ones of said elements is onthe order of a plurality of lengths of the shorter ones of the elements.

6. Means for simulating the lie in the rough on a golf coursecomprising: a backing member; and a plurality of elongated, bristle-likeelements secured to and projecting upwardly from said backing member,some of said elements having a significantly greater dimensiontransverse to the direction of elongation of the elements than others ofthe elements whereby said some elements are stiffer than said otherelements, said other elements being longer than said some elements, thelength of said other elements being on the order of a plurality oflengths of said some elements.

7. Means for simulating the lie in the rough on a golf course accordingto claim 6 wherein said transverse dimension is varied up toapproximately 350% of the transverse dimension of the elements havingthe least transverse dimension, and the length of said other elementsbeing varied up to approximately 300% of the length of said elements.

8. Means for simulating a lie in the rough on a golf course comprising:a backing member; a plurality of elongated bristle-like elements securedto and projecting upwardly from said backing member; some of saidelements having a dimension transverse to the direction of elongation ofthe elements of about twice that of others of the elements whereby saidsome elements are stifier than said other elements, at least some ofsaid other elements being at least twice as long as said some elements.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,970,959 8/ 1934 Gauntlett.

3,343,843 9/1967 Stanko 94 -7 XR 3,350,092 10/1967 Maki.

1,591,095 7/1926 Meyer 273176 JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner US.Cl. X.R. 27333

